Director's Corner

What's with all the stinking emails?

If you’re like many of us, I suspect you get a deluge of email on a daily basis. We in alumni relations not only understand this, but actually have a whole-hearted, we-have-so-been-there respect for it. So, why, might you ask, have there been so many e-mails to alumni in the month of September?

Well, let me explain.

September, otherwise known in the world of alumni relations as The Month That Wasn’t, is by far our busiest, most active time. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s also one of our most fun and connected times. In addition to Alumni Weekend there are theater, music, athletic and museum events. Several fall events in Portland and across the U.S. are getting underway in addition to Family Weekend, our career network webinars and other complimentary programs for alumni. It’s a great time, but it also means we have to do our best to keep our constituents informed without overwhelming them. Sometimes that’s easier said than done.

Just a little insight in to our strategy: we try to segment everything and keep a tight calendar of what is going to whom and when. This allows us to (hopefully!) not send too many things to any one person at a given time. We also try to combine events in a particular region in to one email with a few reminders so you’re not getting 12 messages about the three upcoming events in Portland (there are quite a few coming – you should check it out…).

But despite our best efforts, sometimes we send you too much stuff. For those 1992 grads who played soccer, sang in the choir, majored in theater, traveled abroad and are now parents of a current student, we may not be able to help it.

That’s the downside of a liberal arts education, I suppose. All that access to activities, academic opportunities and the chance to take it all in comes with a price – we’ll keep inviting you to activities and academic opportunities that we think may be of interest after you leave.

If you do think you’re getting too much e-mail, please don’t hesitate to contact us at alumni@willamette.edu and we can update your preferences, focusing in on the info you’re really interested in receiving. It is important to us that we keep our alumni and parents engaged in the way that makes the most sense for them. Just let us know!

So until then, we appreciate your understanding of the crazy email season that is the fall. It’s just because we have so much good stuff to talk about!

And look at the bright side, you could be the poor guy on our team who has to keep all the email messages, segments, dates and updates in order so the 2002 grad doesn’t get invited to the Half Century Plus luncheon by mistake!